Re: 256 Colors

[mjmahon@aol.com (Michael J. Mahon)]

Joe Kohn wrote (in response to Roy's line):

>>> I'm thinking of the IIgs. Released in 1986, and discontinued in 1992.
> 
>That line made me real nostalgic, and looking back on the glory years,
>it's almost impossible to imagine that it was only 6 years from start to
>finish. Ahhh...but what a glorious 6 years they were!

I feel, as a programmer, that the real "glory" of the Apple II was the
8-bit machines, since they were so much easier to program than the
16-bit IIgs.  (You may say that the IIgs could also be programmed as
an 8-bit machine, but in that case it wasn't really used as a IIgs.)

Of the million or so 8-bit Apple II's sold, at least 10%, or a hundred
thousand, were "programmed" by users (many of them students).
Many fewer than 1% of the IIgs's sold were ever programmed by
users (in other than 8-bit mode).

The increased complexity of the IIgs, and particularly GSOS, put
IIgs programming into the "complex model, complex tools" category,
while the 8-bit Apples could be programmed usefully with a few
book(let)s that could be held in one hand.  The "barrier to entry"
for programming (or adding hardware to) the 8-bit machines was
very low, which Woz knew was the key to a great hobbyist machine.

By the time the IIgs came out, computers were becoming "user"
or "application" machines, meant to _run_ nice programs, not to
make it easy to _write_ nice programs.  The Mac is the epitome
of this "easier to use--harder to program" trend.

Many programs were created for the 8-bit machines by owners
who had a need or an idea and got busy, then showed it off at
their next user group meeting.  By the time the 16-bit machines
came along, writing programs was almost entirely a business
activity.

As a programmer/hobbyist, you can see why I'm less interested
in coding for the IIgs (and more modern machines, for that matter).

-michael

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